Simply put, the ancient battlefield was MASSIVE!
What initially appeared as an infinite wave of armoured warriors gradually dissipated, growing sparser as they strategically dispersed to their chosen defensive positions.
Max, initially facing a three-day march on foot to his orb, was relieved when the human mages of the Hazelgroove Empire expedited his journey. They swiftly constructed an intricate network of warp gates, enabling Max to reach the midpoint, near his orb's location, in just half a day.
This efficiency was crucial. With the gateway to the alternate dimension now open, they were under a strict time constraint. They had a mere five days of leeway before the war would officially commence.
The orb itself was something that appeared so fragile that it would break in one's hands if handled too roughly.
It was a light blue lit ball of glass that floated about 2 metres above the surface of the raging river.
It's position appeared to be fix and despite the ebbs and grows of the river water level it appeared to be glued to its spot in space.
Any stray arrow, any gust of wind carrying a sharp metal object could easily destroy the delicate thing and from this moment forward, Max was to be responsible for it's security.
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
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*SWOOSH*
There was a sudden barrage of arrows shot as some members of the fourth legion and first legion seemed to carry the intent to sabotage the whole operation right from the start.
Max with his mastery over the wind immediately created a protective wall of wind around the orb as he stopped all incoming arrows as if they were frozen in time and protected the orbs.
" TRAITORS! CATCH THEM ALL! " Max's call resounded amongst the men like a roar as the rebellious traitors drew out their weapons and began to hack at their own kind.
They only numbered a few hundred and after a short scuffle they were either killed or taken into custody as Max did not dare let his guard down even for a second, his priority being the protection of the orb.
Only when things seemed quite did he grit his teeth and say " Sebastian, Anna, Mira protect the damn orb "
They were the three people that Max trusted the most and in such an uncertain environment, they were the only ones he could order to keep a lookout.
Mira with her massive frame coiled herself in the middle of the river as if taking a bath while Sebastian and Anna stood over her back looking away from the orb for any possible incoming threats.
The army seemed to be in upheaval by the betrayal of their own as Max went ahead and slapped one of the captured traitors real hard and ended his life with the slap before pointing at another as he said " You! Why did you do this? "
Max was ready to end another life with a slap as his patience was running thin so after he asked the question and the man did not answer for a full five seconds he slapped him to death as well before moving onto the next one?
" Why did you do this? " Max asked, his flaring temper silencing the small talk in the entire army as except the sound of the flowing river there was pin-drop silence in the area.
" The dark life of the survival of the fittest is the correct way to live.
We are moving away from our roots in the light faction
We are providing security and protection to people who don't deserve it.
They are a baggage to society and yet they get rights similar to a war hero.
Lucifer promises- "
Before the man could complete his explanation Max killed him and all other captives with a small wind bullet.
He absolutely did not need such trash in his army contingent.
" WHAT EH? WHAT ARE THE REST OF YOU LOOKING AT? I THOUGHT WE HAD FORTS AND DAMS TO BUILD AND TRAPS TO PLANT
I'M ASSUMING IT'S ALL COMPLETED BY THE WAY YOU ARE STANDING STILL HERE GUYS " Max blasted the onlookers as his rage sent a chill down everyone's spine mobilising them instantly to get to working positions.
Nobody had seen this side of Lord Ravan Bloodfall yet.
Nobody had seen him this angry and his genuine anger helped quell the nervousness, doubts and sense of foreboding from the betrayals as everyone focused on their assigned tasks at hand.
For a while nobody dared to come close to Max or ask him a question. It was only 20 minutes later once Max regained his wits that he joined the fourth legion in their efforts to construct the dam, afterall he was the one who was supposed to divert the flow and be instrumental in the construction by raising earthen walls.
***********
( Meanwhile Rudra )
Rudra saw the betrayal coming from a mile away.
He noticed it first when the entire army was marching as he saw the faces of the few which cringed up when Max gave the victory chant as well as become pale when they saw the sheer size of the light faction forces.
The betrayers were actually well connected as well.
They had a plan and orders to follow most likely having been corrupted by some deep cover dark faction agent.
Maybe they were able to penetrate the Bloodfall clan army because it's relatively new and had launched mass recruitment drives.
Maybe they managed to turn members from many other armies as well, which would be a great strategic move since it would mean that the light faction would lose a few dozen orbs before the fighting ever began.
While Max handled the sudden ambush brilliantly, Rudra was disappointed when he killed all betrayers out of rage rather than extracting important information like who put them up to it and more.
It was not how he would have done it, but it did have a pretty significant effect on the psyche of his troops.
His decisive action followed by his shrill shouting orders made everyone complacent in an instant.
It was enough to prevent the seed of doubt of whether or not they could trust the man fighting beside them from spreading and galvanised the army to productivity.
All in all, Max did pretty good.